Are beneficiaries entitled to information about a living trust before they inherit?

Question:

My parents, who are still alive, have told me they're going to leave me an inheritance in the form of a living trust. Since the trust is already in existence, with me as a beneficiary, am I allowed to receive statements from the holder of the trust -- in this case, a bank?

Answer:

Living trusts are generally ruled by that partially-baked parental adage: What you don't know can't hurt you. They are also controlled by the street threat: Over my dead body.

In general, children have no right to information about a parent's trust. The trust is a private arrangement between the person who creates the trust -- called a trustor, settlor, or grantor -- and the trustee (the bank, in this case).

If the children are named as beneficiaries of the trust and are to inherit trust property when one or both of the parents die, then the brood will have certain rights to know the trust innards, but these rights kick in after the death of the parent, not before.